The Drumheller Minor Hockey Midget Raptors have added another banner to their season.
    After a busy weekend, the team was declared the Central Alberta Hockey League Midget Tier 3 champions. This is the second league championship for the team in a row.
    The Raptors were in a showdown for the title against Okotoks on March 16 and 17. In both games the Raptors came away with 4-1 victories.
    The first game was held in Drumheller and the Raptors wasted no time giving the home crowd a good show. By the end of the first, the Raptors were up 2-0 off of goals by Spencer Fournier and Ben Huculak. Justin Schinnour and Denver Hodge added two more in the third period.
    The two teams then headed to Okotoks for the second game. Spencer Fournier and Justin Schinnour racked up four goals by the middle of the second period. Okotoks managed to get on the board late in the third, but by then it was too late.
    The final game came down to penalties, with Okotoks being assessed ten over the course of the game.
    “They were running into penalty trouble throughout the game, so they didn’t really have a chance to get into things,” said assistant coach Nick Schinnour. “We reversed our penalties to almost zero and it definitely worked. The team playing together, bonding, and helping each other out was another big factor.”
    The Raptors march to the league championship began on February 22 against Olds. The Raptors swept the best of three series in two games, winning 5-2 and 6-3.

photo courtesy of Shallyn Schinnour

    In the second round, the Raptors were up against Cremona. On March 8, the Raptors won game one 3-1, but were defeated 4-3 the following afternoon.
    The third and deciding game was held on March 15.
    “We were pretty busy over the weekend. On Friday night, we were facing elimination, but we came out with a 5-0 win. Our stress level went down and we went to the final round the next day,” said Schinnour.
    The Raptors season is not over yet. This weekend, the team will be heading to Coaldale for the Midget C provincial championships.
    “I think they are a little nervous, but they were nervous about this past weekend and came out just fine. Once they get that first shift out of the way, they’ll be in great shape to pull out a few victories,” said Schinnour. “They’re a pretty close knit group, so hopefully we can continue that team mentality and come away with provincial gold.”

    The St. Anthony’s School seniors girls basketball team are hanging up their jerseys.
    On February 25, the Sabres hosted their final game of the regular season when they took on the Trochu Blue Jays. The Sabres kept the game close, but eventually fell behind and lost 49-34.
    The first half was a low-scoring affair. The Sabres defence was working hard to generate some turnovers in their end and kept the game at 20-13 by the end of the first half. The Sabres offence struggled to get the ball to the Blue Jays net.
    After the half, the Blue Jays were able to slowly build their lead.
    “Our defense was our strong point, and our offense is where we struggled,” said head coach Chloe Grant.
    The Sabres have one final game this season; an exhibition game against the Morrin senior girls.
    One of the challenges faced by the team was injuries, which left the team playing short-handed for most of the season.
    “Injuries have definitely taken a toll on our team this year. We started the season with a relatively small team, only seven players, and throughout the season have basically played with six players at best,” said Grant. “But, despite our obstacles, the girls have maintained a positive attitude.”
    For the Sabres, the season was a building year. Most of the small squad were in Grades 10 or even 9. Looking ahead, there is a lot of talent on the horizon.
     “This was also a developmental year for the Sabres. We were very inexperienced, with only one player that had experience at the high school level. I believe that the next few years will be much better for the senior Sabres, as the junior team has had a lot of success. Most importantly, there should be better numbers in the years to come, as the junior team is quite large,” said Grant.